This Fracking Study Should Scare Livestock Farmers Senseless

Popular fears about hydraulic fracking might not be as far-fetched as critics have claimed.

A professor at Cornell University has documented dozens of cases of animal deaths in several states that may have been caused by fracking.

Fracking may also be causing illnesses and reproductive problems in both human beings and animals, molecular medicine Professor Robert Oswald says. Oswald was so alarmed by what he found that he told a British newspaper that he thinks Great Britain should limit fracking.

“Farmers living in intensively drilled areas should be very concerned about potential exposure of their crops and herds to shale gas contaminants in the water, air and soil,” Oswald told the British journal The Ecologist.

Oswald said that fracking in Britain and Northern Ireland should be halted until its effects on farmland, livestock and food supplies are determined.

Study Provides Evidence of Fracking Danger

Oswald’s opposition to fracking stems from a study of animal deaths in six states he and colleague Michelle Bamberger, a veterinarian, conducted. The study was published in New Solutions: a Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.

There were 24 cases in which animals, including livestock, pets and fish, were possibly affected by fracking.

A rancher reported that half of one of his herds, 70 out of 140 cows, died when exposed to fracking fluid that drained onto their pasture. The rancher reported a high number of stillborn and deformed calves were born to the surviving cows.

A farmer in Louisiana reported that 17 cows died within an hour of being exposed to fracking fluid. An autopsy revealed that the cows died of respiratory failure.

Another farmer reported that 21 of 60 cows that drank water from a creek — where fracking wastewater may have been dumped — died. Sixteen of the surviving cows were unable to have calves the next spring.

25 comments

Come on.. Really? “Even though Oswald and Bamberger were unable to establish a direct link between fracking and animal deaths,……” then you go on to cite all of the horrible things that happened due to fracking?

I live in a county with more than 10,000 fracked wells. There are cows, horses, and other livestock grazing all over the place, and I’ve never heard of anyone having a die-off. Here in Colorado, opponents have been conducting studies for more than a decade without finding any proof that the process is harmful to animals, the water table, or other environment if proper safety procedures are followed.

There are many studies that indicate health effects of the process, and of violations of proper safety procedures that have resulted in damage to well and surface water, and to landowners’ health. Also, the industry is allowed to pollute in that they do not have to disclose what chemicals they use and are exempt from the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and other federal regulations. States are understaffed and often promote the industry for its economic benefits for the general economy,so they cannot be expected to protect us from any pollution that may result. When you pump 1 to 7 million gallons of water and chemicals (at least 570 are known to be used) into a well, you need a very large number of tanker trucks to line up, often idling their big diesel rigs. Each pad can have up to six wells, and they may be fracked more than once each. Half of that water comes back up and really can’t be treated to remove both the injected chemicals and the metals or radionuclides and biproduct hydrocarbons that are toxic to us mammals. Some of it WILL end up exposing people and animals, though it would not be everyone or everywhere. Bad idea overall.

Post links or references to the studies then please that show the direct link of fracking to animal health. There are all lot of “may have caused” and “possibly caused” statements. The world we live in is chemical. The use of the word “chemicals” to scare people is out of hand.

PREPPERGAL/CO…If what you’ve stated (about their not being held to the water & air Laws), can be substantiated, then THAT ALONE makes the Corporations pushing “Fracking” SUSPECT at best! Can you (PREPPERGAL/CO) give substantiation? BTW, this is NOT an accusation, it’s an honest question…I hope you can, that’ll make this easier…

The fracking companies are exempt from the clean water and air act. This was approved by / under bush. Not sure if it is the same here but since our pollies are so spineless when it comes to environment issues, I fear it is the same.

a partial list of chemical inputs for fracking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_for_hydraulic_fracturing
add to that taht various radioactive zubstances like radon get added by the rock itself depending on area and more to the point for rapid dye off arsenic and im pretty sure cyanide are also found in some substratas there is ample potential for rapid die off it would depend ot a extent on how treated water was and what the strata had in it naturaly, but theres numerouse chemicals in fracking that arnt alowed to be stored except in sealed chemical barrels in other industrys and a spill by any other industry requires hazmat to attend. im pretty sure alot of those industrys are selling there waste to the fracking industry cause they dont even have to pay storage fees

to preppergalco
the caring human in me, hopes you don’t live long enough to see the repercussions of this industry on your county….the realist however, hopes you do, as we can all be fooled by a clever devil in disguise….. gaslands doco, google searches,. try reading to fill both sides of the story…

We are surrounded by horizontally fracked wells. In Alberta, ranchers near these wells have experienced high death losses and poor fertility in our herds. We believe that this is due to air and water contamination resulting from fracking, especially the use of biocides by the oil and gas industry. Our air and water are not being monitored for pollutants. The approach by our government is “head-in-sand” and the oil and gas companies can do no wrong in their opinion.

I know people personally who have headaches nausea , dizzyness from the chemicals in the atmosphere are caused by flaring (burning off chemicals) one mans (among others)granchildren experience seizures and neurological problems they also have received chemical burns on their skin from contaminated bore water at bath time this mans health, family’s health and farming business has been severely compromised by the Csg industry to the point where he can hardly live on the property and he cannot make any money because of the contamination it has long been known that Csg extraction is injurious to the health of people and animals killing animals more quickly

If you want to put a stop to “Fracking”, than stop driving your cars. Turn off your lights, refrigerators, furnace, dont fly to disneyland or get on a cruise ship. Dont wrap your left overs in plastic wrap, stop playing with the computer……should I continue? Everything that we do in todays society involves oil. If we stop oil production the majority will starve, and the rest will resort to violence to steal from their neighbors to feed their own families. There will be no medicines , no medical facilities…… zAgain, should I continue? There may be a few of you that would be willing to revert back to the dark ages, but the majority are hypocrites. They will post on here about the evil oil corporations, then they will get in their 70k suv’s and drive to the airport and fly to some warm place and forget about everything they say they stand for. Fracking is not a new technique. It has been utilized for decades.

Sounds like that how u r able to sleep at night by just telling youself all that SHIT.. And yes we are messing up the planet, but you guys don’t even know or care the lives you are fucking up now. People are losing everything they worked for all those years, retired and now they are livimg in a $250,000 house that is sinking, and is falling down at such a fast pace we were forced to leave or stay till it falls on our heads. And then to top it off they say its not there problem and we are out on the streets with nothing.just cause u all are a bunch of idiots that have no consince and fat wallets.. And just because you wont be here to see the devastating effects you will be causing your great, great grandkids (your legacy) sounds like a heartless s.o.b.to me. h
you dont even care how you fucking up the the planet, ure stupid to say everyone else is fucking it up so let me fuck it up but just a faster rate.why don’t it matter iif u guys mess up a whole community of mostly senors. .(out of sight out of mind) is that how u guys sleep at night? And telling the farmers no llieing to the farmers that it won’t hurt there fields and they will be able to produce the crops ” that is how they survive u dumb asses .you know they cant grow nothing after they frack there land. Crack if u bunch of assholes. Rember u reap what you sow.. What Goes around comes around. Do u believe in carma? And Carmas a bitch.. Goodluck

It is all about ECONOMICS and productivity. Despite how political winds may blow, it is JUST politics. Success to argue a point needs to strive for the TRUTH in matters of critical discourse.

A suggested method in communicating ideas is to write in an impartial manner. Remove I, me, you, they, etcetera plus ALL of the weasel words utilized to MANIPULATE readers from an argumentative writing.

Notice the technique in the way this is being written.

Many institutions of higher learning REQUIRE a Critical Thinking course to graduate.

Sadly, humanity errs to the emotional relic of reflexive behaviors. The propaganda of manipulation is astounding. Few truly work in earnest to reply in a thoughtful manner; even the so-called EXPERTS and SCIENTISTS.

If one seeks to discover a better process to PROBLEM SOLVING, consider using the Scientific Method. It is a standard introduction to any SCIENCE course. Quantum Mechanics in physical chemistry along with General Physics and Geology will help with these discussions.

This is for anybody that thinks fracking is safe.My house is slowly sinking in a sinkhole after frackings began one mile from our house. All our trees are dead, and all the roots are on top of ground. Grass is allways so wet and soggy and lumps of clay is all over.the yard. Something Toxic is coming up from the ground. Our house is falling apart at the seams. I am so scared our garage was.going to buckle i would’teven park the car in it. Went barefoot out in the yard like I always did,but this time i could not believe what my feet looked like I thought they were going to dry up and fall off, and our water is so bad that we can set it on fire . and i could go on and on. we have been in a hotel for over two weeks and the town and all those oil companies Have no morals or a consence with very deep pockets. They are so greedy that they are denying that anything happening to our $250.000 home was not from anything that they did. So I hope our Lawer can fight and at least get what our house was worth.or else we will be out $250.00 and no where to live. Most insurance company’s do not cover anything like that. So live a mile away from one of there sites and then we will see if u change ure mind. So frackoff.

Yes fracking chemicals can be dangerous if proper procedures are not followed. Just like leaving a gate open and livestock getting out on the highway. Or livestock standing under a tree and lighting strikes. And yes their is substandard engineering and construction; crooked inspectors and official. It happens all the time from bridges to building to product recalls. That’s why we have jails and fines as deterrents.

This article is hilarious in many ways, but mostly in the sense that it was posted at all. God bless America and and free speech, just don’t call this journalism.

I feel obligated to enlighten everyone who reads this about themselves. This is something that I accepted a long time ago when I started working in the oil and gas exploration business and have made peace with to a certain degree.

The human race as a species in inherently parasitic. Drilling oil wells is just a small example of how we knowingly and willingly destroy our own planet. Before you judge the oil and gas industry as somehow more evil than any other business entity, look at the facts. We consume natural resources at a far greater rate than the planet can renew them through natural cycles. Even a yoga studio where everyone is drinking wheat grass and driving hybrids has a carbon footprint.

Come to terms with the simple fact that you and everyone around you destroys this planet on a daily basis, simply by existing in a modern society. Understand that this planet will eventually become uninhabitable due to our presence here. This will happen, not an issue of probability. The human race will not change until we are far past the point of no return. I know this sounds cynical and you are probably thinking I am some bitter for some random reason. I can assure you this is not the case, just one man being realistic about the world that surrounds us all.

Take comfort in the fact that if you are reading this, you and your children and indeed anyone you will ever know will be long past dead before this world becomes truly inhospitable. You want to make a difference? Sell your hybrid and buy the best telescope you can find. Help those budget-constrained folks over at NASA find us a new planet to live on and eventually destroy as well.

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